New oven

[stewamax]

My 70cm high built-under Stoves oven has finally expired: the failing part is no longer available anywhere.
Having looked at some possible replacements, I don’t like the usability of any of them and don’t much like having to grovel (I am tall) just to read icon markings inscribed on a multipurpose control knob.

My present oven has one twistable knob for bottom fan oven, one for top oven and one for grill (turn one way for single grill and the other for double).
Each knob has an illuminated display (not an LED/LCD but just a bulb behind a rotating numbered dial).
There is also a timer that I very rarely use.
Finally I often use both ovens or bottom oven and grill concurrently

Any recs for something similar?

PS: I am not a Luddite – I write websites and smartphone apps – but … horses for courses

[PrincessB]

Hotpoint (or Creda essentially the same company) used to sell pretty much the only built under double oven on the market about 20 years ago so I started there and found this:

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/hotpoint- ... teria.html

Specifications show the height at 720mm which might be an issue.

Aside from that the various options appear to fit the bill as all have a set of controls very similar to your older unit.

In terms of quality, I used to sell loads of Hotpoint and Creda equipment and they all seemed very reliable with few if any problems. So I bought one of their cookers which must have been the Friday afternoon special, I got quite adept at changing the hob elements and the main fan oven element which blew twice. I can only count this as unusual as none of the customers seemed to have issues.

Regards,

B.

[stewamax]

One other problem is the lack of information about the maximum possible height of a item in either oven, but particularly the lower main (usually fan) oven. I don't want to buy a large turkey and find there is no way to get it in the oven without spatchcocking it.
OK - manufacturers quote oven volume in litres, so in theory I should be able to work this out, but volume doesn't necessarily take account of shelf positioning. I just want to know if my item is up to X mm tall it will fit!

[bungeejumper]

Watching this thread with interest, although our situation isn't strictly relevant to the OP's. Just wondering where's the best place to go looking at cookers? Because we don't really want to buy blind from AO, or whatever, and then have to live with whatever arrives?

Our 22 year old Britannia range cooker (made, ironically, in Italy) is now rusting through at the back of the oven and needs replacing soon. Standalone, dual fuel, 60 cm (which isn't big for a range style cooker), and presumably made from old Fiats and Alfa Romeos, to judge by the corrosion. TBH, a few pop rivets and I could probably reinforce the back of it for another 20 years, but I don't imagine that would be good practice?

Looking around for a replacement, have seen a Belling (https://tinyurl.com/ya77wvcu) and a Hotpoint (https://tinyurl.com/y9hsn5rk) that look possible. Both seem to get good reviews, and Argos will fit and recycle/take away for £75.

Which brings me to my last query. Since the gas connection is a bayonet, there's theoretically nothing difficult about hooking up a new appliance, but I've been told that it's now compulsory to have a registered fitter do the job. I'm fine with that (because you only get one chance to get it right with gas ), but is the rumour correct?

BJ

[quelquod]

If DIY then a 'competent person' is all that's needed. I do this routinely for decorating, floor laying etc..
I always consider myself competent, but since I don't have the proper pressure-type of tools to check for leakage I feel the 'authorities' mightn't agree .

[Gaggsy]

We bought a Prochef built-under double oven after seeing their display at the Ideal Home Exhibition about 15 years ago.
We liked it because it was 70cm wide, had a good capacity and also had a proper top oven. Admittedly, we've only ever used the top oven for the grill function. Compared to the Neff models on the next stand they seemed to be much better built.
It's still going strong.

I don't know how much technology has moved on since then. They look slightly different now.

http://www.prochef.co.uk/_BinaryCache/4 ... vens_8.pdf
Our was like the PDO2708

[DrFfybes]

I went through a similar thing with my mum... a lot of online searching, the odd trip to Ikea and Comet (or is it Curry's?)

In the end we went to a local appliance warehouse and told her to pick one.

https://www.direct-discounts.com/oldham-superstore/ was where we went, and whilst it might not be local to you there will probably be something equivalent around (try searching for "appliance centre". Very helpful and pretty much as cheap as anywhere else, and the installer collected it for us when it arrived 3 days later.

Paul

[PrincessB]

OK - manufacturers quote oven volume in litres, so in theory I should be able to work this out, but volume doesn't necessarily take account of shelf positioning. I just want to know if my item is up to X mm tall it will fit!

The conversion rate is 28 litres to the cubic foot (actually 28.3168) and as a rule of thumb a larger microwave usually has a capacity of about a cubic food.

The more gubbins you've got, the smaller the cavity space. I know you just want the most basic unit so you should be finding equipment with the largest possible cavity for size of cooker.

Once you start adding things like side heat, top and bottom heat, special liners, super insulation etc, the actual oven space can seem a little on the small side.

B.

[PrincessB]

Just wondering where's the best place to go looking at cookers? Because we don't really want to buy blind from AO, or whatever, and then have to live with whatever arrives?

The larger Currys/PC World stores are a useful place to vist.
Wicks/B&Q and even Homebase often dedicate a lot of their space to the kitchen sales area.

John Lewis also tend to have a very good display area.

Failing that, have a look around the web for kitchen equipment shops, they will usually have a web presence which shows which brands they sell.

Our 22 year old Britannia range cooker (made, ironically, in Italy) is now rusting through at the back of the oven and needs replacing soon. Standalone, dual fuel, 60 cm

I would base some of my decision on the socket required for the electic oven(s).
Dual fuel stoves used to be a popular way to replace a gas only cooker as many of them plugged into a 13amp socket with a conventional plug.

Depending on your cooking style, Smeg (Italian) do a couple of cookers which might appeal. I can't comment from direct experience, but I have heard that the hobs are great. I've also read reviews which indicate the ovens are not so hot (excuse pun).

The Smeg and some other brands wok rings have a concentric set of flames (many these days are double concentric, at the higher end you might find the triple ring burners) which is going to put more heat where you need it. Beware anything with a powerful rating on a large burner with a single ring as most of the heat is going to go sideways past the pan.

I'm now on holiday for the next 11 days and enjoying a couple of well deserved beers so take this with a pinch of salt as I will veer into the world of fantasy and indicate that I have a cook lust for a range made by a company called 'Thor'

With a brand name like that who wouldn't want one - The hob has as 4 burners rated at 7.6 kW and there are Youtube videos showing a very nice looking set of burners. The hobs only £500 at the moment but on the downside, the full cooker is gas only so it does not fulfil your criteria.

Have you considered re-modeling you kitchen or building an extension?

Regards,

B.

[bungeejumper]

Thank you PrincessB, that's really helpful!

Yes, we are at a very early stage of our search - we will probably get serious about it after new year when the January price cuts start in. (Hopeful whistle.) Your Thor fixation sounds great - did I ever mention that I'm descended from a long line of blacksmiths? Which may be why our other kitchen cooker is a massive cast iron Rayburn.

So, what with those two and the combi microwave, we have three cookers in the room, and we'll probably pass on the bigger sizes. It's a fairly long kitchen (22 feet), and we had it all reworked and rewired when we bought the house, and there's a standalone heavy-calibre cable for the cooker so we won't be reliant on using the ring main for the ovens. A wok burner would be nice but not a deal-breaker.

Great ideas. Will get myself down to Currys, because our local John Lewis has a pathetic kitchen section. Thanks!

BJ

[stewamax]

The more gubbins you've got, the smaller the cavity space. I know you just want the most basic unit so you should be finding equipment with the largest possible cavity for size of cooker.
Once you start adding things like side heat, top and bottom heat, special liners, super insulation etc, the actual oven space can seem a little on the small side.

A good point, and one I have just started to realise having viewed a number of candidate double-ovens. The main (lower fan) oven in most double ovens seems ridiculously small in height. I often use two shelves - the bottom-most having plates inserted ten minutes or so before serving and the one just above with a large roast or fowl. This appears to be utterly impossible with the Bosch, Neff and several other reputable makes I have looked at that have fancy features in the main oven that all seem to soak up space that I could use for cooking!
I am limited to 70cm high built-under ones although with a minor bit of carpentry could stretch to 80cm but definitely not 90cm.

[gryffron]

Argos will fit and recycle/take away for £75.

No! No! No!

The retail installers are useless and actually quite expensive. If there is anything even vaguely non-standard they'll walk away leaving you with no oven. Currys Know It All refused to fit my new oven because it had a 25A circuit breaker rather than a 30A in the fusebox, or something like that. They're not qualified to change it apparently. I had to get a proper electrician in, who changed the fuse, installed the oven, and charged less than Currys (who did refund the installation charge)

I dumped the old one on my drive and the scrap vultures who frequent this area had whisked it away within an hour!

Only thing to note if DIYing is that double ovens are VERY heavy. You'll need two strong people to lift it into place.

Gryff

[johnstevens77]

My first place to do any research would be Which? It only costs a £ to have a look and you can cancel the resulting subscription any time. Although, if you have used it and cancelled before, you will need a different email address for another look. Wish that we had used it to research Nespresso coffee machines.

john

[Devjon]

Our Local Library has Which magazine from the current issue and going back several years. Might be worth a look if there is a Library local to you.

[tikunetih]

A general point:

Something to be aware of is that, in order to maximise internal oven volume (while presumably still accommodating the insulation required to meet energy rating targets), a modern oven may have much smaller voids at the rear and top, which may cause the oven body to interfere with existing items that make use of that space (such as a wall socket behind the oven, or hob gas pipe routing at the rear or rear/top).

This year I replaced a broken built-in oven that was less than 10 years old with a fancy Neff oven and getting it in was quite a challenge, requiring sparky and gas fitter to move/reroute stuff: touch and go whether it would actually ever go in because of the gas, and muchos time and hassle to resolve. Luckily I know people but if I'd paid the retailer to fit it the fella(s) would just have laughed at the problems facing them and walked out the door...

[johnstevens77]

Thanks for the heads up about getting a sparky to instal a new oven. We may replace ours and I was thinking of doing it myself, as one says, what can go wrong?

john

[redsturgeon]

Thanks for the heads up about getting a sparky to instal a new oven. We may replace ours and I was thinking of doing it myself, as one says, what can go wrong?

john

It's a pretty simple job if the connections are already in place and you are a reasonably competent person.

For gas the bayonet fitting is straightforward.

For electricity it is a simple matter of unscrewing a cover plate, finding the right three terminals and connecting the correct wires. With the circuit turned off of course.

As you say, "What could go wrong?"

John

[staffordian]

Thanks for the heads up about getting a sparky to instal a new oven. We may replace ours and I was thinking of doing it myself, as one says, what can go wrong?

john

It's a pretty simple job if the connections are already in place and you are a reasonably competent person.

For gas the bayonet fitting is straightforward.

For electricity it is a simple matter of unscrewing a cover plate, finding the right three terminals and connecting the correct wires. With the circuit turned off of course.

As you say, "What could go wrong?"

John

And some, less powerful ovens, simple use a 13 amp plug. So if you have one of these already then swapping for another can be simplicity itself.

AO, and possibly other sellers allow you to filter by connection type

[jfgw]

Specifications show the height at 720mm which might be an issue.

720mm is the standard height of a kitchen unit so this is unlikely to be a problem. Some units are slightly taller (usually around 735mm) but they are not normally shorter.

Which brings me to my last query. Since the gas connection is a bayonet, there's theoretically nothing difficult about hooking up a new appliance, but I've been told that it's now compulsory to have a registered fitter do the job. I'm fine with that (because you only get one chance to get it right with gas ), but is the rumour correct?

If DIY then a 'competent person' is all that's needed. I do this routinely for decorating, floor laying etc..
I always consider myself competent, but since I don't have the proper pressure-type of tools to check for leakage I feel the 'authorities' mightn't agree .

I am not a gas fitter but I know that there is a difference between temporarily disconnecting a cooker that has already been installed and installing a new appliance. The new cooker has to be checked that it is working properly and tests have to be made to check for pressure drop and leaks.

The larger Currys/PC World stores are a useful place to vist.

They have a price match guarantee. However, since the models they stock tend to be exclusive, you will not find the exact same model cheaper elsewhere because no-one else sells it. Even if you don't buy from Curry's, you can still get a good idea what almost the same model available elsewhere looks like.

The retail installers are useless and actually quite expensive. If there is anything even vaguely non-standard they'll walk away leaving you with no oven. Currys Know It All refused to fit my new oven because it had a 25A circuit breaker rather than a 30A in the fusebox, or something like that. They're not qualified to change it apparently. I had to get a proper electrician in, who changed the fuse, installed the oven, and charged less than Currys (who did refund the installation charge)

I have recently installed a washing-machine for a friend of mine that the installer from Curry's wouldn't. He said he wasn't allowed to make a hole in the cabinet for the plug. Also, the appliance tap broke so he couldn't shut it off. He shut off the main stop-cock and took the tap off and stuffed something up it to try to stop the leak, then refitted it. It wasn't entirely successful and there was some mopping-up to do. I would have thought that a hose with a washing-machine on the other end of it would have been a better idea, even if he didn't plug the machine in. Maybe he didn't think of that.

Only thing to note if DIYing is that double ovens are VERY heavy. You'll need two strong people to lift it into place.

It is usually quite easy to take the doors off. Glass doors are heavy and probably account for at least half of the weight of the oven.

And some, less powerful ovens, simple use a 13 amp plug.

Single ovens usually either plug in or are connected to a fused connection unit with a 13A fuse. Double ovens require a 32A supply.


Julian F. G. W.

[tikunetih]

And some, less powerful ovens, simple use a 13 amp plug.

Single ovens usually either plug in or are connected to a fused connection unit with a 13A fuse. Double ovens require a 32A supply.

The fancy Neff ovens like I have each come in two variants: a 13A version you can plug into a regular socket, and a 16A version that needs to be wired into an outlet plate on a suitably rated oven circuit. Potential purchasers need to carefully read the spec sheets else get a surprise...

Feature-wise, the 16A versions heat up faster than the 13A rated ovens, so is nice to have.

Some of the other "premium" (expensive) brands also seem to have 16A single ovens.